Eberron is here and with our continued focus on skill challenges I thought I’d combine the two. My favourite nation in Eberron has always been Karrnath. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s ruled by a Vampire, the militant nature of the nation or that Atur reminds me of Las Vegas. Either way, I thought a skill challenge about the Karrnathi Army’s undead shock troops would be fun. Enjoy.
Movies and television serve to inspire DMs as we dream up new ideas to run our players through. The Princess Bride is a movie that, on top of providing great drama, incorporates humour into its narrative. The movie will never get old, remaining fresh and entertaining. So, as I reminisced about the Cliffs of Insanity, the Fire Swamp and true love I pondered… could this be turned into a skill challenge?
Of course, the answer is yes, and so I present in all its down and dirty glory The Princess Bride (only the good parts) via skill challenge.
When PCs need information they generally go to a sage or some other knowledgeable NPC. But many PCs have training in the various knowledge skills so why not give them an opportunity to use them for more than monster identification. This skill challenge provides DMs with a way to reward PCs who have opted to take training in the knowledge skills with XP.
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Skill Challenge Week
Tomorrow marks the beginning of Skill Challenge Week here at Dungeon’s Master. Every day for the next week we’ll bring you one or more new skill challenges that you can drop into your existing campaign.
As a special treat for those playing in Eberron, we’ll even have a few Eberron-specific skill challenges for you to use as soon as you pick up the Eberron Player’s Guide on Tuesday. We’ll also look at the impact a Dragonmark has on your PC’s skills during skill challenges. The extent of new benefits or difficulties you may experience during a skill challenge can differ greatly depending on which Dragonmark you possess.
Our existing skill challenge library will expand considerably over the next week. Whether you’re looking for skill challenge templates you can use immediately or you just want to see some of the creative ways we think skills can be used, be sure to visit Dungeon’s Master every day during Skill Challenge Week.
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Are All Gamers Fat?
There I was, playing D&D and stuffing my face with chips and soda pop. I stopped mid-bite and realized that my gaming night food consumption might be the reason my fortitude defense fails me one day down the road. I wondered if every gaming group consumed as many calories (or more) than my group. Sure there are the clichés about beer and pretzel games, or the oft heard “Where is the Mountain Dew?” references, but is this what other gamers eat? Beer, pretzels and Mountain Dew?
It pays to do your homework when building a character. I’ve played some tough characters in my day, but the Battlerager Fighter I played in a recent LFR game was the toughest melee character I’ve ever played. This is one of the character builds I presented in the Characters Who Deal the Most Damage article from last month and after seeing him in action I don’t know why you’d want to play any other kind of Fighter.
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GenCon Preview (Part 1)
Although it’s only the beginning of June, GenCon doesn’t feel that far away. I’m betting the 9 weeks will fly right by and before you know it GenCon will be upon us. Until then, here are a few of my thoughts and some announcements about GenCon 2009.
The wait is over. We have the Eberron Player’s Guide now and we’re reviewing the entire book today. We’re revealing everything about the feats, the magic items and most importantly the Dragonmarks. We covered the races and the classes in the Eberron Player’s Guide Review (part 1) that we posted earlier today. Now we complete the review and reveal all the remaining secrets.
Changes are happening in Eberron. The Eberron Player’s Guide hits shelves next week, but we have our copy now and we’re going to share with you all of its greatness. This is the first of two posts that we are publishing today. So if you’re a fan of Eberron already or just curious to see where this campaign setting is going with 4e D&D, then keep reading.
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Playing Two Characters
I like playing two characters. As long as I get to create them both, then I’ll play two characters any time the DM allows it. But playing two characters when one is yours and one belongs to someone else is a lot more difficult and generally not as much fun.
I’ve played in games where the DM gave players the option of playing one or two characters. Most of my friends choose to stick with one character, but not me; if I can play two characters, I will. Here are some of the pros and cons I’ve found over the years of playing two characters in the same campaign.